Shut It Already

Many years ago in another life it seems I worked at a television station in order to support myself and my Mandy. I started as a secretary and advanced to Traffic Manager before getting married and moving to Italy to be with my dear not Italian husband (not that there is anything wrong with that). He is in the service.

I was initially hired because the person who had this position prior to me had been promoted. She was able to spend a week training me. This was my first office job. Prior to this job I had been a dish washer at a pizza joint, a dish washer at Wendy's, a cashier at Payless, a cashier at Pay'N Save and an at home day care provider. I was so excited to be working as a secretary. I was being paid more than double minimum wage, I had health insurance and vacation. I felt like I had really arrived. During my training I discovered that my job was to sit around and gossip all day and answer the phone or type something up if the need arose. I was also to act very put out and grumble a lot when the need did arrise.

My trainer, we will call her Connie, then went on to do her new very important job and left me to my secretary job. Over time I discovered that Connie never really worked at all and I think they hired me in order to actual have the secretary things accomplished. Connie continued to gossip all day long. She was a bit of a mean, bully type of gossip too. Even if she liked you and had lunch with you, invited you over to her house etc. She would only be being nice to you in order to get your dirt and then tell it to everyone. Too bad for Connie I like to tell people my dirt, this is why I have a blog after all, not really a secret keeper. No one better to gossip about than me.

It was funny that over the course of the five years I worked at the company Connie had many people sit next to her. Every time someone new would be sat next to
Connie she would talk, talk, talk. People would come stand by her desk and talk, talk, talk. Soon the person sitting next to Connie would complain. There would be a memo to the whole office about talking too much. We would all try to stop talking, except Connie. Next the supervisor to the person sitting next to Connie would complain and then that person would get a new desk somewhere else. And some hapless victim, usually the stations latest employee would get sat next to Connie.

There was an office near Connie that was available. But, the boss didn't want to reward Connie and give her the office. I kept telling him that we would all love it if she were islolated, since he can't give us all offices why not just make sure no one has to sit next to Connie. My boss refused. He would call me into his office and make me listen to him talk for hours about who we could sit next to Connie. He finally settled on this one guy who was in his 70's and refused to retire. He kinda annoyed a lot of people as well because he refused to talk and was a little secretive. My boss thought they would be a match made in heaven. I felt bad for Jim. I got married and moved away before this switch had a chance to occur. I would have loved to have seen that, poor Jim.

I am writting this because my dear friend Lorelei is going through a similar situation at her work. I wonder if any of you have ever worked with a Connie and a boss who couldn't tell her to shut up? Or fire her?